Two Iraqi nationals were arrested by Kuwaiti border guards as they were attempting to smuggle 60 hunting rifles through a security fence separating Kuwait and Iraq, the interior ministry has said.

The security forces noticed, through the cameras installed on the fence, six people trying to smuggle weapons through the fence and began pursuing them, a statement released by the ministry and carried by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) on Sunday said.

“Two Iraqi citizens were arrested and 60 hunting rifles in their possession were seized,” it said. “However, the other four escaped towards the Iraqi territories, the ministry said.

Kuwait and Iraq share a border stretching 200 kilometres and a fence.

Iraq’s former regime invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and following a US-led war that ejected them, Kuwait has been pushing for the clear demarcation of the border with its neighbour to the north. In 1993, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 833 demarcating the land border between the two countries.